Hypodermic syringe



NOV. 9, 1948. N, J, PQUX 2,453,591

. HYPODBRMIC SYRINGE Filed Nov. 4, 1945 INVENTQ Mom .1 POUX BY .4 l

.PatentedrNov. 9, 19 48 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE-AppllcationsNglveizzer No. 707,646

1 The subject matter disclosed hei'ein is related to the subject matterof my copending applications Serial No. 707,644, filed November 4, 1946,and Serial No. 707,645, filed November 4, 1946.

This invention relates to hypodermic syringes,

and particularly to an improved hypodermic.

syringe which employs a capsule or ampule containing the medicament tobe injected.

Various types of syringes have been heretofore suggested and used whichwere adapted to be loaded or charged with a capsule 'or ampulecontaining the liquid medicament to be injected into the patient. Suchan ampule consists generally of an elongated tube having a stopperarranged in each end for sealing hermetically the medicament againstcontamination. One of these plugs or stoppers is adapted to beperforated by a hoilow needle mounted in the syringe through which theliquid is injected into the body of the patient. The other plug orstopper acts as a piston which is moved through the ampule by plungermeans carried by the syringe so as to force the liquid through theneedle. While syringes employing ampules of this type are satisfactoryin their use, they are generally cumbersome in their use andconstruction and oftentimes difficult and expensive in theirmanufacture.

It is the general object of the present invention to provide an improvedsyringe of this type which is not only simple and easy to use inadministering the liquid medicament, but one which is so inexpensive inits manufacture that it can be discarded after use.

It is an important object of the invention to provide an improvedcombination of a hypodermic syringe and ampule therefor having meansincorporated therewith for easily and quickly determining whether or notthe injection needle is positioned properly in the body of the patientfor an injection intravenously or into the tissues of the patient.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved hypodermicsyringe which can be easily and conveniently molded from a plasticmaterial at a minimum cost and, at the same time, one which issufficiently strong and rugged for its intended use.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an improved hypodermicsyringe having a member incorporated therewith which acts both as a capmember for protecting the injection needle when the syringe is not inuse and as a plunger and guiding member when in use.

Various other objects and advantages of this 2 the followingspecification, and will be particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims.

In the accompanying drawings, there is shown for the purpose ofillustration, an embodiment which my invention may assume in practice.

In-these drawings: a i

Fig. 1 is an elevational view, partly in section, of the improvedhypodermic syringe of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof. showing how the ampuleis inserted initially therein;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of my syringe, showing theampule fully seated therein, and the position the plunger assumes afteran injection has been made;

Fig. 4 is an elevational view, partly in section, of the body portion ofthe ampule to be used with y syri e;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a detail view, partly in section, of one of the stoppers for.the ampule body, as shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a detail view of the other stopper therefor; and

Fig. 8 is a top view of my shown in Fig. 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the improved syringe of myinvention comprises an elongated cylindrical thin-walled body memher 2having a central cylindrical hollow portion or chamber 3 for housing anampule or capsule 4 which will be described hereinafter more in de--tail. This body member is made preferably from a transparent material,such as glass, styrene, or any other suitable moldable material. One endof the hollow portion or chamber 3 is open, as at 5, and the oppositeend is closed, as at 6. Adjacent the open end, there is carried by thebody member, a pair of diametrically arranged curved finger graspingportions 1 for holding the syringe for an injection. On the outer sideof the closed end improved syringe, as

6, there is provided a reduced frusto-conical shaped portion I so as toprovide an outwardly tapered reduced end for a purpose to be described.There is positioned in the closed end 6 and extending therethrough, adouble pointed hollow injection needle 6 having one end portionextending into the hollow portion or chamber 1 and with the other orinjecting end portion l2 disposed centrallyof the frusto-conical shapedportion 6 and extending outwardly from that end of the body member.There is securely attached.

invention will be more apparent in the course of 65 to the needle 1intermediate the length thereof.

preferably by welding, a ball-like member l3 which is embedded in themolded'material in the closed end portion of the body member so as toprevent displacement of the needle relative to the body member when thesyringe is in use. It will be understood ,that needle 9 is molded intothe body member at the time of the molding thereof.

There is provided an elongated cylindrical combination cap and plungermember l4 consisting of a cylindrical thin-walled portion 30 which iscompressible. This portion 39 has an axially arranged cylindrical hollowportion 3i open at one end for housing the outwardly extending endportion l2 of the needle 9, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Theinner diameter of this hollow portion 3i is slightly less than thelargest diameter of the frusto-conical shaped portion 8 of the bodymember 2. There is connected to the other end of the cylindricalportion3l by means of relatively thin radial extending connectingportions 32, a solid plunger portion 33 having an enlarged head portion34 which is depressed, as at 35, so as to provide a depression forreceiving the thumb of the user to actuate the plunger in a manner to bedescribed. when the member I4 is used as a cap member, it is disposedover and around the outer end portion l2 of the needle with the innerend thereof being positioned and forced over the frusto-conical shapedportion 8 into frictional engagement therewith thereby protecting theouter end portion of the needle against contamination. It is preferablethat the member l4 be made from the same moldable material of which thebody member 2 is made.

The capsule or ampule 4 is a cylindrical tubular member, as shown inFig. 4, made from glass, styrene, or any other suitable materialimpervious to liquids and capable of being sterilized. There I isprovided a pair of cylindrical plugs or stoppers the ampule at one endthereof and has a plurality of circumferential grooves l8 arrangedtherearound to enhance its sealing effect and, at the same time, topermit free sliding of the plug within the ampule. This stopper isadapted to be forced through the ampule and acts as a piston to ejectthe liquid therefrom in a manner to be described. The other stopper 31,as shown in Fig. 6, consists of a relatively thick central portion I!which is axially recessed or cupped, as at 29, so as to facilitatepiercing thereof and to enable all of the contents of the ampule to bedischarged therefrom, which central portion fits snugly into the bore ofthe ampule at the end thereof opposite that from the stopper 36. Thereis provided a skirt portion 2! which is spaced from the central portioni9 by an annular groove 22. This skirt portion fits over and around theouter end and side wall of the ampule end thereof being positioned inthe annular groove 22 of the stopper. Such a construction is provided toprevent displacement of the stopper 3'! from the end of the ampule whenit is positioned in the syringe. 0n the outer side of the skirt portion2!, there is provided one or morecircumferential V-shaped grooves orridges 24 for facilitating insertion and movement of the ampule in thesyringe and to obtain abetter sealing effect. The outer end of thestopper'3'l is rounded, as at 25, so as to aid in inserting and guidingthe ampule into the cham her 3. It will be understood that the syringeis sterilized before it is packaged. In other words, the

injection needle 9 and the hollow portion or chamber 3 are sterilizedtogether with the member I4 before packaging. After sterilization, thecap member I4 is positioned over the outer end portion i2 of the needle9 with the cylindrical portion 30 fitting around the frusto-conicalshaped portion so as to protect this portion of the needle. A cork orstopper 2'! is preferably inserted in the open end 5 to maintain thehollow portion 3 and the inner end ill of the needle sterile. Thus, itwill be seen, as shown in Fig. i, that after sterilization, it is asealed sterile medicine package ready for use.

The sterile solution of anesthetic or other medicant is disposed in theampule 4 and confined between the stoppers 36 and 31 as a separatecomponent. The syringe and ampule may be packaged together or separatelydepending on the intended use for the syringe and the medicament to beinjected. a

The syringe of my invention is used in the following manner. The ampule4 is inserted into the open end of the hollow portion or chamber 3 ofthe body member 2 with the stopper 3! being on the end first inserted.The member [4 is then removed from the closed end of the body member soas to expose the injecting end l2 of.

the needle. The combination cap and plunger member I4 is then positionedover the upper end of the ampule 4 with the walls of the cylindricalportion 3| extending down around the ampule and with the end of thesolid plunger portion 33 positioned against the stopper 39 therein, asshown in Fig. 2. It will be understood that the outer diameter of thesolid portion 33 is slightly less than the inner diameter of the ampuleand that the inner diameter of the cylindrical portion 30 is slightlygreater than the outer diameter of the ampule and that the outerdiameter of the portion 39 is slightly less than the inner diameter ofthe hollow portion 3. The needle is then in- J'ected into the body ofthe patient. In order to ascertain whether or not' the end of the needleis positioned properly in the patient to administer the injectionproperly, the ampule 4 is withdrawn slightly or reciprocated by graspingthe ampule holding portion 39 and compressing it so that the ampule isfirmly grasped in order to draw fluid from the body of the patient intothe closed chamber 26 at the bottom of the hollow portion 3, as shown inFig. 2. This chamber is formed by the stopper 31 which acts as a pistonwhen th ampule is reciprocated to withdraw liquid from the patient. Ifthe point of the needle is positioned in a vein for an intravenousinjection, blood will appear in the closed chamber 26, and if the needlepoint is merely in the tissue of the patient, no blood will appear. Byproviding such a separate closed chamber 26, the blood is prevented frommixing with the medicament in the ampule and is forced from this chamberup past the stopper 3! between the inner wall of the "chamber 3 andouter wall of the ampule. That is to say, the user of the syringe candetermine accurately whether or not the needle is positioned properly inthe patient for the desired injection, and this is one of the mostimportant aspects of the present invention. After the needle has beenproperly positioned, as above described, the ampule 4 is fully seated,and upon moving to its seat the stopper 3'! is perforated by the innerend I. of the needle with the extreme endbeingpositioned' in the recessor well II of the stopper,

The Y-shaped ridges 24 on the stopper 81 are designed to permit air toescape from the bottom of the chamber 3 up between the inner wall of thechamber and the outer wall of the ampule as the latter is forcedtherein. The V-shaped ridges bear yieldably inst the inner wall of thechamber 8 and act as a suction means to draw blood from the patient intothe chamber 26 when the patient is intraosseous or intravenous. slidlast mentionedstopper adapted to be perforated by ampule is manipulatedin the manner as hereinplunger portion as relative to the cylindricalportion II so as to break the connection therebetween. The plungerportion is then forced inwardly by the thumb which in turn moves thepiston stopper ll inwardly through the ampule thereby ejecting theliquid medicament through the hollow needle 0 into the patient. It willbe understood that it is the purpose of the cylindrical portion ii tofill the space between the ampule and the inner wall -of the hollowportion 3 so as to pilot the ample from being tilted or cocked when theplunger I3 is forced therethrough and acts to guide the plunger into theampule. After all of the liquid has been injected, the stopper It. isseated against the stopper 81 in the bottom of the ampule, as shown inFig. 3. The needle is then withdrawn from the patient and the syringetogether with the ampule contained therein discarded.

As a result of my invention, it will be seen that thereis provided aneat and compact syringe which is not only sterile and ready for use butone which can be easily and conveniently packaged for merchandisingpurposes. It is so constructed and arranged that it is foolproof and canbe used safely by the most inexperienced person. The syringe of thepresent invention is so simple and inexpensive in its construction thatit can be discarded after it has been used but once. While I have'shownand described an embodiment which my invention may assume in practice,it will be understood that this embodiment is merely for the purpose ofillustration and description, and that other forms may be devised withinthe scopeof my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A hypodermic syringe comprising, in combination, an elongatedcylindrical hollow body member being open at one end for receiving acylindrical tampule containing a liquid to be injected wi the oppositeend being closed, a double pointed injection needle securely arranged insaid closed end with one point extending into the hollow portion of saidbody member and with the other point extending outwardly therefrom, anelongated cylindrical ampule containing the liquid to be injected, apair of resilient stoppers with one disposed in each end of said ampulefor hermetically sealing the same, one of said stoppers disposed whollywithin the ampule and the other fitting in and around the end thereof soasto fit snugly the hollow portion of the body member and which isadapted to act as a piston for determining whether or not the injectionwhen the needle is positioned in the the'needle point disposed in thehollow portion of said member when it is fully seated therein, and acombination cap and plunger member consisting of an open-ended hollowcylindrical portion adapted to nt around the ampule having a plungerportion detachably attached thereto at one end thereof, said plungerportion adapted to push the first mentioned stopper inwardly through theampule to force the liquid through said needle.

2. A hypodermic syringe, as denned in claim 1, wherein the cylindricalportion is detachably connected to the plunger portion by means of aplurality of relatively thin radial extending portions.

3. A hypodermic syringe comprising, in combination, an elongatedcylindrical hollow body member being open on one end and closed at itsopposite end, a double pointed injection needle securely arranged insaid closed end with one point extending into the hollow portion of thebody member and with the other end extending outwardly therefrom,,anelongated cylindrical ampule containing liquid to be injected positionedin the hollow portion of said body member through the open end thereof,said ampule being shorter in length than the length of said hollowportion whereby the ampule cannot be removed therefrom after it is fullyseated therein so as to prevent reuse of the ampule and the syringe, apair of resilient stoppers with one disposed at each end of said ampulefor hermetically sealing the same, one of said stoppers disposed whollywithin the ampule withthe other being shaped to fit around the end ofthe ampule and to have its outer part snugly fit the end of the hollowportion of the body member, said last mentioned stopper adapted to beengaged and perforated by the needle point disposed in the hollowportion of said body member, and a combination cap and plunger memberconsisting of a hollow cylindrical portion adapted to act both as a capportion and as a guide for said ampule having a plunger portiondetachably connected thereto at one end thereof, said plunger adapted topush the first mentioned stopper inwardly through the ampule to forcethe liquid. through said needle.

4. A hypodermic syringe comprising, in combination, an elongatedcylindrical hollow body member being open at one end and closed at itsopposite end, a double pointed injection needle securely arranged insaid closed end with one point extending into the hollow portion of saidbody member and with the other end extending outwardly therefrom, anelongated cylindrical ampule containing liquid to be injected positionedin the hollow portion of said body member through the open end thereof,a pair of resilient stoppers with one disposed at each end oi saidampule .for hermetically sealing the same, one of said stoppers disposedwholly within the ampule with the other being shaped to fit around thend thereof with its outer part snugly fitting the end of the hollowportion of the body member, said last mentioned stopper adapted to beperforated by the needle point disposed in the hollow portion oi saidbody member, and a combination cap and plunger member consisting of ahollow cylindrical portion adapted to act both as a cap portion and as aguide for said ampule having a plunger portion detachably connectedthereto at one end thereof, said plunger adapted to push the firstmentioned stopper inwardly through the ampule chamber and with the otherpoint extending outwardly from the body member, an elongated cylindricalampule containing the liquid to be injected, a pair of resilientstoppers with one disposed in each. end of said ampule for hermeticallysealing the same, one of said stoppers disposed wholly within the ampuleand the other fitting securely around the end thereof, said ampuleinserted through the open end of said chamber with said last mentionedstopper adapted to be perforated by the needle point in said chamber,and a combination cap and. plunger member consisting of a hollowcylindrical portion adapted to act both as a cap portion and as a guidefor said ampule having a plunger portion detachably connected thereto atone end thereof, said plunger adapted to push the first mentionedstopper inwardly through the ampule to force the liquid through saidneedle.

6. A hypodermic syringe comprising, in combination, an elongatedcylindrical hollow body member being open at one end and closed at itsopposite end with said closed end being transparent, a double pointedinjection needle securely arranged in said closed end with one pointextending into the hollow portion of saidbody member and with the otherpoint extending outwardly therefrom, an elongated cylindrical ampulecontaining the liquid to be injected, a pair of resilient stoppers withone disposed in each end of said ampule for hermetically sealing thesame, one of said stoppers disposed wholly within the ampule and theother fitting in and around the end thereof and having an outer diameterslightly greater than the diameter of said hollow portion, said ampuledisposed in said hollow portion and in one position adapted to be spacedfrom the inner bottom end of said hollow portion so as to provide .acompartment in the bottom thereof, said last mentioned stopper adaptedto act as a piston when the ampule is manipulated reciprocably so as todetermine whether or not the needle is positioned correctly in thepatient for an intravenous injection or one into the tissues with bloodentering the transparent compartment in the bottom of said hollowportion and visible therein if the needle is positioned correctly for anintravenous injection, said last mentioned stopper adapted to. beperforated by the needle point when said stopper is fully seated inanother position in said hollow portion, and a combination cap andplunger member consisting of a hollow cylindrical portion adapted to actboth as a cap portion 8 and as a guide for said ampule having a plungerportion detachably connected thereto at one end thereof, said plungeradapted to push the first mentioned stopper inwardly through the ampuleto force the liquid through said needle.

7. A hypodermic syringe comprising, in combination, an elongatedcylindrical hollow body member being open at one end and closed atitsopposite end, a double pointed injection needle securely arranged insaid closed end with one point extending into the hollow portion of saidbody member and with the other end extendinl outwardly therefrom, anelongated cylindrical ampule containing liquid to be injected positionedin the hollow portion of said body member through the open end thereof,a pair of resilien stoppers with one disposed at each end of sai ampulefor hermetically sealing the same, one 0 said stoppers disposed whollywithin the ampul with the other being shaped to fit around the endthereof with its outer part snugly fitting the end of the hollow portionof the body member, said last mentioned stopper adaptedto be perforatedby the needle point disposed in the hollow portion of said body member,and a combination cap and plunger member consisting of a hollowcylindrical portion adapted to act both as a cap portion and as a guidefor said ampule, said cylindrical portion being open at 'one end whichend is adapted to engage the closed end of the body member when saidmember is disposed over and around the injection needle to protect thesame, a

cylindrical plunger portion of a smaller diameter having one end thereofdetachably connected to the opposite end of said cylindrical portionwhich is adapted to be broken loose therefrom and forced against thefirst mentioned stopper and moved into and through the ampule togetherwith the stopper to force the liquid from the ampule and through saidneedle. 7 8. A hypodermic syringe, as defined in claim 7, wherein themeans detachably connecting the plunger to the cylindrical portionconsists of a plurality of relatively thin radial extendin portions.

NOEL J. POUX.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthispatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 743,743 McCullough Nov. 10, 19031,704,678 Brown Mar. 5, 1929 1,718,592 Smith June 25, 1929 1,734,154Brown :Nov. 5, 1929 1,929,247 Hein Oct. 3, 1933 2,408,323 Lockhart Sept.24, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 776,968 France Nov. 17,1934

